This invention relates to an electrical program guide system and method wherein a plurality of program selection screens in each of which a plurality of reduced screens indicating the contents of programs of different broadcasting channels are arranged are transmitted and developed into a virtual screen to allow a desired program to be selected rapidly with certainty, intuitively and directly from among a large number of programs.
In recent years, the number of broadcasting channels has increased in a cable television (CATV) system or a digital direct satellite broadcasting system (DSS: Digital Satellite System, a trademark of Hughes Communications) in the United States of America applying a high efficiency coding technique such as the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). As a result of an increase in the number of channels, for example, 150 to 200 broadcasting channels are now available, it is not easy to find a desired program from among the multitude of broadcasting channels. In general, to find a desired program, a broadcasting channel is first selected and the program of the selected broadcasting channel is actually confirmed. Then, if the program is not the desired one, another broadcasting channel is selected similarly. When the number of channels is comparatively small, the way of selection just described is not very inconvenient; however when the number of available channels is such a very great number as mentioned above, the way of selection will make the viewer feel cumbersome.
Thus, in order to allow a viewer to readily recognize the contents of programs being currently broadcast, a method of displaying images of the programs being currently broadcast on a so-called multi-screen which includes a plurality of reduced screens has been proposed and is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Application No. Heisei 6-169448.
According to the method disclosed in the document just mentioned, a screen is formed as a multi-screen which is divided into 4.times.4 reduced screens, in each of which a reduced image of a screen of a program broadcast in a different broadcasting channel is displayed. Further, on each reduced screen, the number of the broadcasting channel which is broadcasting the program is displayed in a superimposed condition. Accordingly, the viewer can recognize, observing the reduced screens of the multi-screen, outlines of contents of the individual programs, and when the viewer wants to actually enjoy one of the programs, the viewer will manually operate a remote commander or a like device to input the number of the broadcasting channel of the program.
While such an increase in the number of broadcasting channels as described above is proceeding in the United States of America, a project of digital television broadcasting is proceeding also in Japan. If the project is realized, a large number of broadcasting channels are will be provided, and it will become impossible to present the programs of a large number of broadcasting channels with a mere 16 reduced screens.
Further, the positions of programs to be displayed on individual reduced screens of the multi-screen are fixed. Consequently, the image displaying method described above has a disadvantage that the array of programs of the broadcasting channels to be displayed on the individual reduced screens cannot be varied automatically in accordance with the history of program enjoyment or reduced screens cannot be disposed at arbitrary customized positions of the multi-screen in accordance with a will of the viewer. More specifically, in the prior art, it is impossible to dispose a reduced screen of a program enjoyed comparatively frequently, for example at the left upper position in the multi-screen.